G.R. No. 66207, 18 May 1992

FACTS:

In the morning of 13 August 1982, while the plaintiff was in the campus ground and premises of, REPUBLIC CENTRAL COLLEGES, as he was and is still a regular enrolled student of said school taking his morning classes, the defendant, JIMMY B. SOLOMON, who was on said date and hour in the premises of said school performing his duties and obligations as a duly appointed security guard under the employment, supervision and control of his employer-defendant R.L. SECURITY AGENCY, INC., headed by Mr. Benjamin Serrano, without any provocation, in a wanton, fraudulent, reckless, oppressive or malevolent manner, with intent to kill, attack, assault, strike and shoot the plaintiff on the abdomen with a .38 Caliber Revolver, a deadly weapon, which ordinarily such wound sustained would have caused plaintiff’s death were it not for the timely medical assistance given to him. The plaintiff was treated and confined at Angeles Medical Center, Angeles City, and, as per doctor’s opinion, the plaintiff may not be able to attend to his regular classes and will be incapacitated in the performance of his usual work for a duration of three to four months before his wounds would be completely healed.

Private respondent Colleges filed a motion to dismiss, contending that the complaint stated no cause of action against it. Private respondent argued that it is free from any liability for the injuries sustained by petitioner student for the reason that private respondent school was not the employer of the security guard charged and hence was not responsible for any wrongful act of Solomon.

ISSUE:

WON the respondent college is liable for the acts of the security guard.

RULING:

No. Under Article 2180 of the Civil Code, the obligation to respond for damage inflicted by one against another by fault or negligence exists not only for one’s own act or omission, but also for acts or omissions of a person for whom one is by law responsible. Among the persons held vicariously responsible for acts or omissions of another person are the following:

xxx xxxxxx

Employers shall be liable for the damages caused by their employees and household helpers acting within the scope of their assigned tasks, even though the former are not engaged in any business or industry.

xxx xxxxxx

Lastly, teachers or heads of establishments of arts and trades shall be liable for damages caused by their pupils, their students or apprentices, so long as they remain in their custody.

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The first paragraph quoted above offers no basis for holding the Colleges liable for the alleged wrongful acts of security guard Jimmy B. Solomon inflicted upon petitioner Soliman, Jr. Private respondent school was not the employer of Jimmy Solomon. The employer of Jimmy Solomon was the R.L. Security Agency Inc., while the school was the client or customer of the R.L. Security Agency Inc. It is settled that where the security agency, as here, recruits, hires and assigns the work of its watchmen or security guards, the agency is the employer of such guards or watchmen. Liability for illegal or harmful acts committed by the security guards attaches to the employer agency, and not to the clients or customers of such agency.

The fact that a client company may give instructions or directions to the security guards assigned to it, does not, by itself, render the client responsible as an employer of the security guards concerned and liable for their wrongful acts or omissions. Those instructions or directions are ordinarily no more than requests commonly envisaged in the contract for services entered into with the security agency. There being no employer-employee relationship between the Colleges and Jimmy Solomon, petitioner student cannot impose vicarious liability upon the Colleges for the acts of security guard Solomon.

*Case digest by Stephanie C. Castillo, JD-IV, Andres Bonifacio College, SY: 2019-2020